Among the Gray Lords by D. J. Butler

Author:D. J. Butler [Butler, D. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Action & Adventure, General
ISBN: 9781625799456
Google: DvPSEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Baen Books
Published: 2024-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Yovila’s Gardens were a maze. Even Fix, prodded to opine on the subject, had no idea who Yovila was, or had been, but her gardens were a tangle of stone walls, benches, and reflecting pools, which together formed a labyrinth. Over the top of the stone maze, and sometimes apparently in utter disregard of it, grew a second tangle of shrubbery, thick trees, vines, raised flower beds, and cane, constituting in itself a second labyrinth. The overlaid labyrinths were puzzling indeed, to first-time visitors like Indrajit, and constituted a large city block in their own right.

The Protagonists stood at the north end of the Petting Zoo, which was slightly higher than the south end, where Kish sloped away toward the Caravanserai, the Necropolis, and the Endless Road. They were looking for mernache trees. The rain was letting up, fading into a soft drizzle, and cold dawn was near.

“I see why this park is favored for assignations,” Indrajit said. “There must be ten thousand hiding places in here, and half of those contain a solid bench or a comfortable bed of grass.”

“My lady Elissa!” Two Zalaptings in an unfamiliar uniform passed, only a few paces into the park. They poked into and parted thickets with long sticks. “Lady Elissa, you’re due at home!”

“Not only romantic assignations,” Larch said.

“What do you mean?” Indrajit asked.

“I’m not sure,” Larch said. “But I know Archegos Major Tunk came here for meetings from time to time.”

“With other diplomats, you mean?” Indrajit asked.

“Meetings at night.”

Indrajit grunted, and then realized what Larch meant. “Secret papers delivered, unrecorded payoffs, rumors bought and sold, that sort of thing.”

“That sort of thing.” Larch shrugged. “I want to be useful.”

“Well, it does paint a picture,” Indrajit agreed.

“There’s only one mernache grove.” Fix pointed.

The mernache was a tree that was very nearly a vine. Its boles were thin, flexible, and gnarled, its bark rough enough to cut skin. Its leaves were dark green and glossy, and stayed through Kish’s cool winter, sheltering clusters of white berries in the spring. Its roots shot out, it was said, for leagues if nothing stopped them, throwing up a new tree trunk every few paces. The trunks of the mernache tangled together, so it could be used alone as a hedge that would stop large creatures, like droggers or ylakka, or with smaller, thornier plants to create a truly impervious wall. Within the grove, myriad small, sheltered corners played hosts to birds, animals, and, in this particular park, lovers.

The park’s mernache grove filled a depression that might once have been a pond, it looked so regularly oval in shape. The mernaches were crowded between taller thamber oaks at one end and a heap of stones containing an artificial grotto at the other. A single path cut through from the oaks to the hill, spreading into a tiny clearing, only a few paces across, in the middle.

“If we’re first, let’s pick our ground,” Indrajit said.

“If I had a dozen men with swords, I’d hide them in the oak trees,” Fix said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.